‘Flight risk’: Mehul Choksi denied bail by Dominica High Court in illegal entry case

The Dominica High Court on Friday denied bail to fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi in connection with his illegal entry into the island country, India Today reported.

Judge Wynante Adrien-Roberts said Choksi was a “flight risk”. The court observed that the businessman has no ties to Dominica for it to impose any conditions to stop him from leaving the country, according to ANI.

Choksi had approached the High Court after the magistrate had rejected his bail petition. During Friday’s hearing, his counsel argued for bail on medical grounds.

Advocate Lennox Lawrence, representing the state, said Interpol has issued a Red Notice against Choksi. The Interpol notices, which are not international arrest warrants, ask authorities worldwide to provisionally detain people pending possible extradition or other legal actions. Interpol issues them at the request of a member country.

Lawrence also told the High Court that Choksi was given the necessary medical treatment.

The case so far

Choksi is wanted by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate in India in connection with the Rs 13,000-crore Punjab National Bank fraud case. The scam created a controversy in February 2018 when the bank informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that it had detected “fraudulent and unauthorised transactions” worth Rs 11,380 crore at a branch in South Mumbai.

Choksi had been reported missing by his family…

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